Date: Wednesday, March 12
Time: 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Yagi Sisters Farm, Sebastopol
Cost: Free
Join the North Coast Soil Hub, UCCE, CAFF, and Yagi Sisters Farm for a workshop on tillage in diversified annual cropping systems. The workshop will feature an overview of the tillage trial Reyna Yagi and Ellie Andrews established as part of the CA Farm Demonstration Network to explore the intersection of farmer well-being and ecological health, a grower panel on decision-making around tillage, information on soil-water dynamics, and peer learning discussion sessions on equipment and tradeoffs. Join us to learn, share, and advance the conversation together! Spanish interpretation is available. Registration is limited, please prioritize space for farmers.
Speakers
Reyna Yagi hails originally from the East Bay where she was first inspired to farm from her time immersed in the urban ag and food justice movement there. She’s been living and farming in Sonoma County since 2018 and now runs her own small-farm vegetable operation in Sebastopol, Yagi Sisters Farm that “centers ecology, diversity, and localization in serving her community.” She likes to think she draws some of her farming intuition from her grandfather, who farmed in Stockton, CA with his family at “Yagi Brothers Farm.” She pays homage to them in the farm name and in growing Japanese and Asian crop varietals, and the “Sisters” part is a shout out to all her mentors. She also works as a Groundwater Community Engagement Contractor with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers where she helps small farmers understand and navigate SGMA. She plays a collaborative educator role with her farmer training organization, Agroecology Commons and also keeps her ties to the Bay serving on the Sunol AgPark Advisory Committee. The rest of the time she’s eating. Every meal is something to look forward to, something to be grateful for, something to share.
Rachel Kohn Obut has been farming for over 20 years, mostly in the north bay region. From 2018 through 2022, she ran a low-till CSA veggie and flower farm on an acre of leased land, that became more productive and profitable each year, even while Rachel also went through a pregnancy and began to coparent a young child during that time. Since losing access to that farmland, Rachel continues to grow crops for sale in her own small backyard, and manages and consults on a variety of small scale culinary gardens, works in edible and native landscape design, and is very interested in creating efficient and productive gardens on any scale.
Ellie Andrews is the UCCE Specialty Crops Advisor for Sonoma, Marin, and Napa counties. Her Extension program serves orchards and diversified vegetable grower through science-based education, outreach and applied research on key needs. After completing her bachelor’s degree in field ecology, she spent several years working on small-scale organic vegetable farms in Ohio before pursuing a master’s degree in plant health management from Ohio State University. From there, she did her PhD in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis where her research focused on using organic matter amendments in orchards to improve nutrient cycling, soil-plant water dynamics, and soil microbial communities. She has experience working in many different crop systems and enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of applied agricultural sciences.
Helaine Berris is the new Area Water & Soils Resources Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension serving Sonoma, Napa, Marin, and Mendocino counties. She has worked in water management and agriculture for the past 6 years and has focused on conservation planning, data analysis and research, and project development. Her vision for the Water & Soil Program is to provide education and research for on-farm water management and innovation. The program will be shaped around practices that help agricultural producers improve farm scale water efficiency and soil health, meet local regulations, and adapt to environmental extremes.
